Music and Nature

14) In regards to the Icelandic leader that you researched, what did you learn while we were in the country that helped you understand him or her in more depth?

The Icelandic leader I researched was Björk, a popular Icelandic musician. The goal of several of her albums was to increase awareness for the beautiful geography of Iceland, such as the mountains, volcanos, glaciers, waterfalls, fjords, bays, and more. Much of Björk’s inspiration for the music she created came from the landscape she grew up around in Iceland. Prior to visiting the country, I was able to look at pictures to see why Björk was so passionate about the environment; however, the pictures did not completely capture the total experience of visiting the island and seeing all the landmasses for myself. While traveling throughout Iceland, I was able to view many different landscapes and geographical land masses—all of which make the country beautiful to view. It was breathtaking and I gained a better understanding of why Björk was so inspired by the landscape. I understood more completely why she would advocate for protecting the beauty around her, as it was truly unique and it would be a tragedy to see it destroyed by harsh, gray factories creating pollution. The environmentalist movement was an important piece of the context surrounding Björk and her actions as a leader. The movement impacted many of her values, such as a love for nature and music, and the education of the people of Iceland. Thus, her actions as a leader reciprocated these strong feelings and beliefs, demonstrated when she created several albums surrounding the environment, or when she publicly supported or disagreed with organizations making changes in the geography of Iceland.Read more